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"Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that's what." - Salman Rushdie
As the storm was moving our way, I got out on the golf cart to take some photos. You can see the clouds rolling in over the Presbyterian Church, and then I went downtown and saw a line of electric company trucks on Austin Street. It looked like they were ready for action, so I hoped that if we lost electricity it would be quickly restored.
I snapped the sandbag photo that you see below in front of our local Edward Jones office, and then suddenly the sky fell out. There's no real protection from driving rain in a golf cart, so I put the pedal down and headed for The Grove. The rain and wind hit in earnest just as I got back, but it wasn't like anything we'd expected. The rain was heavy, although you can't see it in the photo on the below right, but the street in front of our house flooded and the wind was whipping the trees around.
It finally passed, and we learned that the eye of the hurricane had veered to the other side of Shreveport and passed about an hour east of us. When it was all said and done, we only had about two-and-a-half inches of rain, and although leaves from the trees were everywhere, we didn't have any major damage. I know that some other places, especially along the coast, were hit hard and our prayers go out to those folks. For this storm, however, Jefferson was spared. Of course, as I write this, another hurricane is hitting the coast... I hope everyone will be as fortunate as Jefferson was when Laura came through.
First of all, I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU! to all you wonderful GroveZine readers who voted in USA Today's "10 best" contest last month. I'm thrilled to report that The Grove ended up at the #4 position on the list... The Grove was voted the 4th best Haunted Destination in the entire country. You guys did that, and I can't thank you enough. Seriously, you have no idea how much your support is appreciated. Thanks so much. Here's the entire "10 Best Haunted Destinations" list, and I've made each one a link so that you can explore them...
1. Zak Bagans' The Haunted Museum 2. Yuma Territorial Prison Museum & Park 3. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum 4. The Grove 5. Fort East Martello Museum 6. St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum 7. West Virginia Penitentiary 8. Waverly Hills Sanatorium 9. Winchester Mystery House 10. Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park The strange thing for me is that with all the haunted traveling I've done around the country, especially writing the Ghost in My Suitcase book, I've only been to a couple of the places on the list. I've been to the Winchester House a couple of times, and of course I live at The Grove, but I've never visited the others. I've always wanted to go to Fort East Martello Museum and see Robert the Doll, so maybe once we can travel again I'll set out for that one and a couple of the others.
Looks amazing, right? I was really excited by the video, but when it comes to the supernatural captured in photography, whether video or still picture, for verification I always turn to paranormal photography expert Michael Graves. I sent him the link and waited to hear his response.
Here's what's coming up around Jefferson...
Jefferson is opening back up, but before heading out for any of these events I'd recommend calling in advance and verifying that everything is still on, and what any attendance restrictions might be.
10/9-10/11/2020 - Burn Benefit Motorcycle Rally
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Ah, many things to talk about this month. First of all, The Grove is the #4 Haunted Destination according to USA Today, all thanks to you guys. Also, to paraphrase the troubadour Jimmy Buffett, we've been "trying to reason with hurricane season" here in Jefferson, and so far, so good. I've got a lot of things to share with you this month, so let's get started.
The other day I was talking to someone about the importance of having a will, and the example that I always use is, "While I hope my wife and I live for many years to come, we could easily pull out onto the highway and get hit by a log truck." That's my go-to example of dying suddenly and unexpectedly, and actually for pretty good reason. If you look in the photo, this happens every so often in Jefferson. Most truck drivers are very safe and careful, but occasionally one will get in a hurry and you'll see a log truck on its side, and its load all over the road. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this accident that happened a week or so ago, but the prospect of being at the bottom of that pile of logs genuinely frightens me.
The big excitement in town recently was Hurricane Laura. The news reports were saying things like "unsurvivable" and "dire warnings." When the news started putting up the projected path, it looked like the eye of the storm was going to come right over Jefferson, just like you see in the photo. Some people were putting out sandbags in front of their door thresholds, others were bringing anything in the yard that could fall over and break, and here at The Grove I brought in the flag so that it wouldn't get ripped off the front of the house.
Okay, we made it through Hurricane Laura, things calmed down, and I got an email from a friend one afternoon. It showed a video captured on the Gettysburg battlefield on evening - a most notoriously haunted place. 
After reviewing the video a number of times, Michael pointed out something that I hadn't seen. There is a spot on the windshield of the car, maybe a bug splatter, but it exactly tracks the "ghost" captured on film. After a few more viewings, it becomes obvious that the "ghost" is just a smudge on the window that is playing off the reflected lights from the cannons and monument. That's disappointing, because I really wanted this video to be the real thing. I'm afraid that it isn't though, and if you track the "ghost" along with the spot on the windshield, I think that you'll come to the same conclusion. Man, I really hate that - I was definitely excited by this video.
Earlier this year I did a GroveZine with a number of cat ghost stories, and we had another feline spirit show up this month. My wife had already turned in for the evening and I was walking through the house turning off lights, and the only thing on in the den was the television. Walking through the game room I looked into the den, and saw a dark-furred cat stepping out of the light that the TV was reflecting. The last thing that I saw was the tail gently swaying, so I assumed that it was our cat Elsie who has a tortoise shell coat. As I stepped into the den I didn't see her, though, so I looked in the kitchen and then the hallway, but she was nowhere in sight. I finally opened the back door, and she was sitting out on the walkway. The doggie door was closed off, so there's no way that she could have gotten outside, unless she was never in the den to begin with. We've seen cat spirits at The Grove through the years, so I assume that what I saw was one hanging out around the house again.
There are many different things that happen at The Grove, from glimpsing the Lady in White, to hearing voices or footsteps in empty rooms. If you've been reading the GroveZine for a while, you may remember that a few years back I was doing a tour and we were all in the Game Room. As I was telling some of the stories, a lady on the tour turned and walked out of the room. I was going to ask her what was wrong, but before I could, a wave of intense sadness washed over me. It was very much like I was standing waist-deep in the ocean and a wave came in. I almost started crying, and even though I couldn't figure out why, I was able to push it aside and continue the tour. The lady eventually re-joined the tour, and after it was over told me that she suddenly got so emotional that she had to get out of the room.
What a month it's been - USA Today's "10 Best" contest, a hurricane headed straight for Jefferson, and October making its way into our lives when it seems like it should only be about June. It's definitely fall, though, because the spider lilies are starting to bloom at The Grove (like you can see in the picture). They're the last things to bloom before winter. 2020 has been a CrAzY year, but at least we're coming into the holiday season... Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, which means that this is my favorite time of the year. Please stay safe and healthy, and I'll talk to you next month.